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Defendant Files Appeal

ST. MARYS — A St. Marys man convicted of murder has filed an appeal in his case.

Gordon W. Diggle III, who was convicted in April of murdering Steven Casad on Sept. 8, 2010, has appealed his conviction to the Third District Court of Appeals in Lima. Diggle was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on murder, felonious assault and aggravated robbery charges.

According to online court documents, merit briefs on behalf of Diggle were due to the court on Tuesday. A date for oral arguments in front of the panel of judges has yet to be set.

After three hours of deliberations, jurors convicted Diggle in the murder for Casad, whom he left beaten and bloodied in the alley of the Friendly Tavern. Casad managed to make it back to his home, where police were called to the scene. According to testimony in the case, Casad repeatedly identified Diggle as his assailant. Casad died several days after the attack from injuries he suffered at the hands of Diggle.

Following the attack, Diggle fled St. Marys and was ultimately arrested on Sept. 14 by New York State Police in Tarrytown, N.Y., after being on the run for close to a week. Investigators believed he was on his way to Massachusetts, where he has family. Diggle fought extradition to Ohio and the three-month waiting period ended when authorities in Rockland County, N.Y., cleared the way for his return in mid-December last year.

According to online records, Diggle is currently serving his term in the Toledo Correctional Institution. He isn’t scheduled for a parole hearing until October 2035.